India achieved an unprecedented milestone on Wednesday by successfully landing an unmanned craft near the Moon’s southern pole.
This accomplishment stands as a historic triumph not only for India but also for its innovative and cost-effective space program.
Named Chandrayaan-3, which translates to “Mooncraft” in Sanskrit, the spacecraft made its touchdown at 6:04 pm India time (1234 GMT), prompting scenes of jubilation and camaraderie among mission control personnel. This achievement comes shortly after a Russian probe met with failure in the same region and follows four years of anticipation since India’s previous lunar endeavor ended in disappointment.
The achievement resonated far beyond India’s borders, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi proudly waved the Indian flag during a live broadcast to announce the mission’s success. Speaking from the BRICS diplomatic summit in South Africa, Modi emphasized the global significance of the event, declaring, “India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone. This success belongs to all of humanity.”
The Chandrayaan-3 mission had captivated the attention of the public for nearly six weeks, drawing cheers from a crowd of enthusiastic onlookers at its launch. The endeavor had garnered prayers and well-wishes, even invoking Hindu rituals for its triumph. Schoolchildren were equally engrossed, witnessing the nail-biting moments of the landing through live broadcasts in their classrooms.
In contrast to the swift Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, Chandrayaan-3’s journey to the Moon took a considerably longer duration. India’s utilization of less powerful rockets meant that the probe needed to execute multiple orbits around the Earth to build the necessary momentum before embarking on its month-long lunar sojourn.
Following Vikram’s detachment from its propulsion module last week, the lander has been diligently transmitting images of the lunar surface since entering lunar orbit on August 5. With the successful landing of Vikram, a solar-powered rover is poised to initiate an exploration of the Moon’s surface, relaying valuable data back to Earth over its operational span of two weeks.
